It’s Time For The Saint Andrew Novena!

I have to admit that when I first heard of this Novena, which begins on November 30th (the feast of Saint Andrew), I was skeptical. It sounded a little too superstitious to me. As I did some more research and gave it some thought, I realized that praying this novena causes us to focus 15 times each day, throughout all of Advent, on the moment of Our Lord’s birth. What could be bad about that? This year, I’ll be saying it again and invite each of you to join me.

The St. Andrew/Christmas Novena

Say 15 times a day from St. Andrew’s Day (30 November), ending on Christmas Eve

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold. In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires, through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother. Amen.

(It is piously believed that whoever recites the above prayer fifteen times a day from the feast of St. Andrew, on November 30th, until Christmas will obtain what is asked.)

[Imprimatur: +MICHAEL AUGUSTINE, Archbishop of New York, New York, February 6, 1897.]

Hi! I have said this novena for a few years now, and it is very powerful. I have a question. I have two intentions. Do I have to pray this novena 30 times, or can I include both intentions with the one novena? I asked the deacon @ my church today and he said he thinks one time is fine. What do you think?

I don’t see any problem in praying the novena 15 times and asking for multiple intentions. We always have to be careful that we don’t treat novenas as superstition or as a “quid pro quo” with God. With this novena (and with all prayers), we shouldn’t have the mindset that God won’t answer our prayer if we only repeat it 14x. This novena provides us with a means to meditate on the moment when “The Word Became Flesh”. The world was waiting thousands of years for the arrival of the Savior and Here He is!!! Prayer is simply having a conversation with God and anytime we request something in prayer, we receive “something”. We may not receive exactly what we requested, but we know that we will receive what we need, when we need it. One thing we know we will receive when we pray is grace, that intangible gift that helps us to get to Heaven. By the way, I’m not saying that you have a superstitious attitude or are praying incorrectly. It’s just that your question provided a great opportunity to elaborate on my original post.

I am trying to pray this with the right disposition and not from a superstitious mindset. However, I find that sometimes while I start in the a.m. I lose my prayer along the way and they all get lumped together at the end of the day, is this ok?

Also, my intentions are numberous, and yes, all important. So my question, is it necessary to list all the specifics of each intention, or should i just mention names, or is it sufficient to just mention both (names and respective intentions) at the beginning of the novena, knowing that God knows my desires for each?
Thanks and God bless.

Hi Mary – It doesn’t sound like you’re being superstitious at all. I pray all 15 prayers at the same time because otherwise I know that I’d forget! When I say the words, I try to meditate on the meaning, which is the intent of this novena. In my opinion, it’s ok to mention the intentions, but don’t feel you have to mention every last detail. As you stated, God knows your desires. Incidentally, I have the same concerns as you do and struggle with them from time to time. I’m sure that Our Lord is very happy that are desiring to honor Him by praying this novena!

I didn’t finish the 15X’s prayers and was short 7.I had recieved bad news last night and was consumed with it so I missed the last 7 . Does this mean that my prayers of this novena are canceled out? I did pray an extra 7 times today to make up for last night.

Hi Debbie – I wouldn’t be too upset about this. If it makes you feel better you could pray the extra 7 tonight, but falling short of the 15/day is not going to nullify your prayers. We always have to be careful to avoid taking a superstitious approach to prayer and devotions. 14,15,25 iterations per day isn’t as important as the fact that you’re praying from the heart each day. It sounds to me like you’re doing a great job. I’ll keep you in my prayers!

thank you for the reminder, sometimes it can be too easy to become superstitious/ legalistic with structured prayer such as this, the important thing is to have faith and trust in God. He will always answer our intentions